Flukes and Lilacs
by Roruna
Summary: Definitely AU, based on the most of the events of Night Watch. Basically, what if Sybil had wandered into Treacle Mine Road on the Glorious 25th? youngSamxyoungSybil and I guess VimesxyoungSybil... ish.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: Since there's never enough room in the description for the actual description, here it is. I'm a big, giant sucker for SamxSybil and I really think that they were probably really cute as kids. So I decided to throw Sybil into the events of Night Watch to see what would happen and this fanfic is what came out of my crazy musings._

_P.S. I don't own Discworld Period._

How could this have happened? Vimes asked himself. _This_ was _not _how it went. _She _wasn't here. She was _safe_ at home, with her dad probably. She wasn't _here._ Vimes kept playing these remarks in his mind over and over like a prayer. He secretly hoped, deep, deep down, probably in his colon (1) that if he thought it hard enough it would become true. Rust as the Watch captain was ridiculous enough but _this_?

She hadn't even screamed that loudly or that high. It wasn't even really a cry of distress; it was one of those screams that happen when one is in a fight. But Vimes' ears picked it up and his hindbrain knew that it was Sybil. He ran crossing the barricade towards the scream, the whole world forgotten. When Vimes got there, she was in a fight. It had probably started out as an attempted mugging or… Vimes couldn't finish that thought. But this was Sybil and while she was a teenage girl, she was no helpless damsel. But it was her against two men, so the fight was not going great for her.

One man had hooked his arms under her armpits but was having noticeable trouble keeping her still and himself unscathed. The other man was keeping his distance since Sybil was well aware of the fact that her legs were still free and whenever she thought he might be in range, she'd kick savagely at him. Eventually, the man picked up a long bit of wood and was going to swing at Sybil with it when Vimes, using one of Mrs. Goodbody's handy equalizers, laid the man out from behind.

This distracted the man holding onto Sybil, giving her a chance to give him a swift kick between the legs and drive her elbow under his ribcage when he let go of her arms. It took Vimes a great deal of restraint to keep from beating both men to a bloody pulp once he was sure that Sybil wasn't in any danger. Instead he bellowed for Sergeant Colon and Snouty. They arrived almost instantly. Vimes pointed at both men who were either unconscious or smart enough to fake it. "Take these two to the cells."

He told himself that he'd teach them some manners later. When Colon and Snouty had gone, Vimes rushed over to Sybil but stopped in his tracks when she picked up the bit of wood and held it in both hands like a sword. She glared at him and Vimes noticed that she looked furious but also scared. "You're that _dreadful_ man from the other night." She took a step forward just as Vimes was going to say something. "Don't make a move! Why are you following me?"

Vimes reached out a hand slowly and was about to take another step to Sybil but stopped himself. Something in his brain stopped him, something beyond 'if you get to close she'll beat you with a big stick'. He couldn't stop looking at her. She was so _close_. At the moment, she was the only real thing in the world and it was killing him, especially when she called him dreadful. Vimes remembered that Sybil would use the world dreadful when describing the really ruthless men, he dealt with daily; the murderers, the really imaginative thugs, the rapists… and now she had condemned him to be among them.

"Sybil…" He couldn't think of anything to say to her. He wanted to tell her everything of course but he had long figured out that she wouldn't believe him. "I'm not following you… I just heard a scream and I…" Here was where it got tricky. He wanted to say that there is no universe where he would hurt her and that he loved her and that he was sorry. Sorry about… well, everything. The benign neglect, for making her feel like she wasn't that important to him, making her worry, the fact that she was his _third _thought and not his first. He pulled himself together and groaned. "I really think that you should come with me behind the barricade until we can figure out how to get you home…" He stepped closer to her. Sybil tightened her grip on the bit of wood and raised it sharply.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Sybil—"

"Miss Ramkin to you, thank you very much."

Vimes sighed; he was really starting to lose his patience. "What are you even doing here? You live on Scoone Ave. You're not even _supposed_ to be here!" He really hadn't meant to shout and as soon as he did, he knew that it had been a mistake. Sybil's eyes widened momentarily but she rallied herself quickly. "Where I go is none of your business." This was getting him nowhere. She wasn't going to listen to him at this rate. He reminded himself that _she _was not his wife. _She_ was just a girl looking at a scary man with an eye patch who knew too much about her.

He took several steps back until there was almost the street's width between them. Sybil relaxed her grip on the bit of wood but kept her eyes on him. He looked away from her and tried to think. He knew he had work he needed to do. He needed to keep Treacle Mine Road safe and find Carcer and try to get back home… and Sybil was insanely distracting. He wasn't going to just leave her to her own devices, it was too risky. He knew that she'd be safe if she just agreed to get behind the barricade, which is where he needed to be anyway. Also some part of him didn't want to be far from her. He had the cigar case she gave him but having her close was something he didn't want to let go of and he knew that was selfish and short sighted even as he thought it.

He also knew that she didn't trust him and saw him as a danger more than anything else, including those two men probably. He had to reassure her she'd be safe. He needed someone harmless, someone trustworthy, or at least honest looking. Harmless… Harmless… He walked slowly to the barricade, turning to look at Sybil occasionally just to make sure she was all right. They weren't that far from the barricade, in fact she was still in his sight once he was right in front of it. He found a large gap and spoke into it loudly. "Get Vimes and Miss Battye out here, please."

Someone said, "Yes, sarge" Then there were the distinct sounds of running from behind the barricade. Vimes turned to look at Sybil again and noticed that she tightened her grip each time he turned to look at her. After a few minutes, Sam and Miss Battye climbed over the barricade. "What's up, sarge?" Vimes motioned to Sybil vaguely. "She's a long way from home… see if you can convince her to get behind the barricade with us until we can figure out how to get her back home."

Sam nodded sharply and walked over to Sybil. Sam held up his badge as he got closer to Sybil and in a clear voice said, "Lance-Constable Vimes, City Watch." Miss Battye looked at Vimes more or less bemused and followed after Sam slowly. Sam motioned towards Vimes. "That's Sergeant Keel." Sam pointed at Miss Battye. "This is Sandra Battye, she's a—" Miss Battye gave Sam a sharp look. Sam coughed nervously and tried not to smile. "She sews." After an embarrassing pause, Sam spoke again. "Miss… er…"

"Sybil."

"Miss Sybil—"

"Just Sybil, please."

"Er…" Sam blushed, of course he did.

Ye gods, thought Vimes, she's always been a sucker for the skinny ones. He probably would have found the situation more amusing if he wasn't trying to tell himself that he wasn't jealous. _This is crazy. Jealous of myself. Why couldn't she just have stayed home? I don't need this grief. _He looked back to Sam, Sybil and Miss Battye. Sam had given up the guard act and just seemed to be trying to avoid looking at Sybil at all costs. He was still blushing and Vimes noticed that every few seconds, Sam would glance up at Sybil but only for an instant.

How in the hell was he instantly attracted to her? Vimes wondered. Vimes hadn't even been instantly attracted to Sybil when they first met. Actually he had been terrified of her. Of course that might have had something to do with the 'do you know anything about mating' line she had sprung on him. (2) But Sam wasn't the same person as Vimes, was he? Sam was a teenage boy who was just grateful to get attention from any girl. But Sybil was pretty… in a way. She was pretty the way a chubby girl is pretty as in, 'you have such a pretty face, if you just lost the weight'.

Miss Battye finally broke the silence. She put her hand on Sybil's shoulder. "Would you like to come behind the barricade with us? At least until things quiet down and then we'll take you home." Sybil smiled genteelly to Miss Battye but then looked over to Vimes. She wasn't bothering to hide her apprehension towards him. Sam spoke up on Vimes' behalf. "Don't worry about Sarge, miss. He's a good copper." Vimes smiled a little. That really was the kindest thing anyone could ever say about him, in fact that was the kindest thing he could say about anyone. Sybil spoke this time. "I'll go, but only if you promise to call me Sybil, none of this 'miss' business."

Sam coughed loudly; his face, if it were possible, was even redder now. He nodded and that was quite tricky since he still refused to look up at Sybil. "All right… S-Sybil." Miss Battye really tried not to laugh. She smirked a little while her shoulders shook a little. She walked over to the barricade, passing Vimes and climbed over with his help. Vimes turned to look at Sam and Sybil and with great reluctance, climbed over the barricade to the other side leaving the kids to their own devices, even if it only was for under a minute.

(1) His heart wasn't deep down enough.

(2) Oh, and the dragon breeder armor she was wearing at the time.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: This fanfic actually started out as a one shot and then I realized that it was 21 pages long so I decided to break it up into chapters. __So would you all prefer that I post the following chapters all at once or space them out?_

_P.S. I don't own Discworld, please don't sue me. It's not like I'm making money off this anyway._

Sybil and Sam walked to the barricade trying to avoid each other's eyes while at the same time glancing at one another. Sybil started to fidget with one of her curls as she continued to sneak looks at Sam. Sam had not stopped blushing. He thought he could feel his hair turning red as well and wondered if it were possible for hair to blush too. They stopped just in front of the barricade. After a few seconds, Sam got down on one knee and cupped his hands together to give Sybil a boost over the barricade.

It was Sybil's turn to blush but she very tentatively put one foot in Sam's hands, a hand on each of Sam's shoulders and pushed herself up and over the barricade. Sam tried very hard to not look up Sybil's dress as she went over the barricade. It didn't matter too much though since under her dress she was wearing that special kind of undergarment that can double as breeches. But Sam was still painfully embarrassed and he looked up at the sky waiting to see if he'd get struck by lightning. (1)

He climbed over the barricade and saw that Vimes was watching him. Sam and Vimes shared a look. Vimes raised an eyebrow and Sam smiled widely and very nervously. Vimes shook his head and sighed as he stepped away from the barricade and sat down by the fire that had been built. He pulled out his cigar case and read the inscription. _**To Sam with love from your Sybil**_**_._ **_His _Sybil. There was a universe, out there, with _his _Sybil in it. He started remembering things about his Sybil that he didn't even know he had ever noticed. He missed her, her smile, her laugh, how she always smelled like a mix of swamp dragon gas, anti-burn ointment and a hint of perfume, her cooking…

He swore things would be different if… _when_ he got home. Then a thought struck him, what if he came home to a different future. He looked over to Sam and Sybil who were sitting next to each other but with a two foot gap between them. He wasn't listening to what they were saying but at one point Sybil laughed, patted Sam's arm and said, "You're so _funny_!" (2) Vimes wasn't supposed to meet Sybil until that business with the dragon, which was almost thirty years from now.

There were so many ways that this could go, most of them wrong. They could fall in love and run away together, they could fall in love and Sam would be killed by Lord Ramkin causing Vimes to pop out of existence, they might not wait twenty five to thirty years to get married and Vimes would come home to children and possibly grandchildren he didn't recognize or Sam might get scared away by Lord Ramkin and never approach Sybil again. Damn, damn, _damn_. Of course there was also the possibility that Sam would say or do something stupid and Sybil might marry someone else. Shit.

Vimes got up and walked away from the fire. He couldn't watch anymore. It was just going to make him crazy. He climbed to the top of the barricade and looked out. He pushed all thoughts of Sybil out of his brain. He needed to do the job that was in front of him and hope that things would sort themselves out between the kids. There really wasn't much he could do to keep them away from each other for twenty five years anyway. He really wished that he had Vetinari's knack for manipulating people at the moment.

Sam was finally started to feel more comfortable around Sybil. No girl had ever said he was funny and he had a vague idea that this was probably a good sign. He had noticed a few alarming details about her though. Details like her clothes, they were very good quality though they weren't particularly flashy. She was pale, not like sickly pale but she definitely did not spend a lot of time the sun and she all around looked… soft. Not in the same sense as weakness but in the sense that, she wasn't used to worrying about the basics. She obviously ate well and dressed well and spoke well.

Sam knew all these clues added up to something, probably nothing good for him so he purposefully tried to ignore them. This was becoming more and more difficult as he continued talking to her. "So… er… where do you live exactly, miss?" He didn't really want to know… well, he didn't want to ask because he knew the answer was not going to be something good but he couldn't keep himself from asking questions. Sybil smiled and touched Sam's shoulder timidly as she moved closer to him. "I live on Scoone Ave and what did I say about calling me miss?"

"Sorry, mi—Sybil." Sam's denial took this opportunity to move the fact that Sybil lived on Scoone Ave. to a more inconspicuous part of his brain. Sybil was now sitting, very ladylike, only a few inches away from Sam. He nervously crossed his legs, causing his knee to touch Sybil's. He noticed this right away and stood up quickly. "I'm going to get something to eat! Do you want anything?" Sybil looked up at Sam and said, "Er…" Sam had run over to Dibbler before she even finished saying that.

Dibbler spooned some Liberty Stew into a bowl before Sam even said anything. Rosie was standing beside him holding a bowl for herself but definitely not eating it. She smirked at Sam. "Problem, Vimesey?" Sam's eyes turned to Sybil for maybe a second as he tried to think of what to say but Rosie didn't give him a chance. "She likes you, you know." Sam blushed again taking the bowl Dibbler offered him. "What? No. Who… How can you tell that?" Rosie sighed, tilting her head toward the fire and Sybil. "Your young lady, Sybil right? Yes, she does and I do know what I'm talking about."

Dibbler took another bowl and scooped some stew into it as well. "What is it about wars and revolutions that bring out the romantic in people?" Rosie shrugged. "I think it's the fact that people are dying and they don't want to miss a chance to have sex one last time. Don't you agree, Vimesey?" Sam almost choked on a mouthful of stew. He spit it out and started coughing rapidly. Rosie patted his back gently until he stopped coughing and stood up straight again.

That had really been too much for Sam. His brain was already melting from touching Sybil's knee by accident; he just knew that there was no way he could think about actual sex. He was going to be struck by lightning for sure any minute now. Rosie rolled her eyes. "Oh stop being so uptight. Like you haven't been thinking about it, you little hypocrite." She gave Sam a good natured smile as she spoke but Sam was too far into his embarrassment to notice.

Rosie sighed and smiled more kindly. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about just be sure to let her know you like her too. You never know what could happen. You two might even live happily ever after." She turned Sam around and gave him a gentle nudge forward. He walked slowly back to Sybil holding his bowl of stew and one for Sybil. Dibbler stirred the stew slowly and spoke once Sam was out of earshot. "Why did you say that to him? Any fool can see she's really posh and you've put into his head that they might live happily ever after?"

Rosie sighed and shook her head. "He might not listen to me. He's so damned shy." Dibbler nodded. "True but you know that Keel will probably tear your head right off if Vimesey's heart gets broken, he's awful protective of the lad." Rosie shut her eyes tightly. "Damn, I hadn't even thought of that." She finally tasted a spoonful of stew and winced. It was horrid. Rosie was not the least bit surprised.

Sam handed a bowl to Sybil and sat down next to her again. She sniffed the bowl carefully and then tasted it. "I've never tasted anything like this before. It's very interesting." Her face didn't reveal even a hint of terror or disgust. Sam put his bowl down on the ground. "It's horrible. I'm sorry." Sybil shook her head as she took a piece of what she hoped with pork in her fingers. "Nonsense, it's great. Here." She held the little piece of 'pork' up to Sam and without thinking Sam opened his mouth so she could feed it to him.

Sam was caught between a rock and a hard place at this point. On the one hand as long as he focused on chewing, he could _not_ focus on Sybil licking her fingers but on the other hand, he had to actually taste the 'pork' if he did that. He decided to swallow the 'pork' with hardly one chew and dared the gods to smite him. Sybil must have noticed where Sam's mind was going and turned away from him with her index finger in her mouth.

Sam put his hand on Sybil's shoulder. "Sorry! I'm sorry… Er…" Sybil turned to Sam suddenly. "Do you like me?" No thought went through Sam's mind. "Yes–" He covered his mouth with both hands but it was too late of course. Sybil bit her bottom lip and Sam was mesmerized. "And I like you… So, now that that's settled, what shall we do about it?" Receive fiery retribution from the gods for our sins and burn in hell for all eternity, was what Sam thought but what he said was, "I dunno." Sybil sighed with just a hint of frustration. She had already acted like a floozy just by admitting that she liked him. The least he could do was try something so no one could say that she threw herself at him.

Sam gingerly raised his arm and put it around her shoulders. He pulled her closer to him and suddenly felt like he was being watched. He was pretty sure that some insulted god wasn't watching him though and turned his head to see who it was. For a second, he saw Colon, Snouty, Wiglet, Waddy, Nancyball, Dibbler, Rosie, Miss Battye and Nobby, who he didn't even know was behind the barricade, watching him. They turned and were suddenly very busy with a large variety of things. Sybil laughed as Sam shook his head warily. At least Sergeant Keel wasn't being nosy too, thought Sam.

Sam took Sybil's hand and stood up. "Maybe we should go somewhere private?" He was really going out on a limb now. It was one thing to flirt out in the open but Sam really wasn't sure if Sybil would be all right with going anywhere alone with him. Not that he'd really try anything but girls seemed to care a lot about what people thought. Sybil looked down at the ground while she thought; finally, he made a move… almost. Maybe he was just shy in front of other people. She nodded. "All right."

(1) He was, of course, worrying needlessly. If the gods struck down every teenager who had an impure thought there would be no intelligent life anywhere in the multiverse and all the land would be scorched.

(2) That's the multiversal teenage girl sign of romantic attraction.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Ok, here's chapter 3. There are definitely some adult themes in this chapter but nothing graphic. Just insinuation really._

_P.S. It pains me as always to admit that I don't own Discworld. If I did I'd be selling this stuff instead of imposing it on the masses for free and possibly against their will. XD_

Sam and Sybil walked hand in hand into the watch house. The feel of the area outside of the watch house seemed to change once the door closed. Everyone looked at each other with knowing grins on their faces. Suddenly Vimes' voice carried over the small crowd. "Ye gods, what's wrong with all of you? Don't you have anything better to think about than whether two teenagers get together?" Vimes climbed off the top of the barricade and the crowd broke up.

Vimes groaned as he sat down near the fire again. He pulled out his cigar case, paused a moment to make sure the inscription was still there, took a cigar and put the little case away. As he lit his cigar, Rosie sat down next to him. They didn't say anything and Vimes did all he could to not look in at the door to the watch house. He reminded himself that Sam and Sybil were perfectly safe in there. Those two men were locked in their cells and Rust was passed out in his office.

But despite his efforts, he did look at the door a few times. He really hadn't been able to keep himself from watching those two. He was pretty sure that Sam noticed him watching them. Well, they weren't in his line of sight anymore. There was a wooden door and stone walls between Vimes and Sybil so he really could look at the door all he wanted and Sam would never know.

He blew out a puff of smoke as he watched the door. Rosie cleared her throat but didn't look at him as she spoke. "I'm disappointed in you, Keel. I thought you were above all that love crap." Vimes didn't look at Rosie. "What?" Rosie turned to face Vimes. "You love her." That wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact like the sky is blue or fire is hot. Vimes took another drag from his cigar before responding. "She's just a kid." Rosie shrugged. "That's not denying it." She paused before continuing. "Vimesey's no good for her. But then neither are you. And what would your wife say if she knew you were lusting after some spoiled rich girl?"

There is probably a universe where Vimes punched Rosie Palm in the nose, but in this one, he stayed perfectly still and seemed to freeze the air around him. After an uncomfortable pause, he spoke in a cool and calm voice, "Go to hell, Rose." He flicked some ash off the tip of his cigar and put it back in his mouth. Rosie stood up and walked away in a huff. Vimes finally unclenched his fist. He wasn't exactly sure what he was angrier about, that Rosie had the nerve to say that or that it was true. _But she is not in possession of all the facts._

Vimes really needed to get Sybil home. Her father was probably frothing at the mouth with worry by now and the longer he put it off the worse it would ultimately be for Sam. He got up and walked into the watch house. He stopped just inside the door and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around. So Sam and Sybil were either in the back yard or upstairs. He walked past one of the desks that was on the way to the back door, stopped suddenly, turned away from the desk and took a few steps. "What are you kids doing?" (1)

Sam and Sybil poked their heads up from under the desk. Sam's helmet and breastplate were off him and shoved somewhere under the desk. Vimes thanked all the gods that the boy was still wearing his breeches and chain mail. Sybil was facing away from Vimes and fiddling with the top of her dress. Vimes was trying very hard to not yell, he knew that if he didn't handle the situation delicately he'd probably scar the kids for life and that would ultimately ruin his sex life. (2)

He counted to ten. "Miss, I suggest you wait out by the fire while I have a word with my lance-constable." Sybil looked at Sam uncertainly for a moment until he gave her a reassuring smile. She kissed him very quickly on the cheek and rushed out of the watch house closing the door behind her. Vimes counted to ten again after he heard the door shut and then turned to Sam quickly. Sam took a step back when he saw the look on Vimes' face. "What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Uh…"

"Don't you take that tone with me!" (3)

"Ok."

"Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you're in?"

"… A lot?"

It was going to take Vimes a moment to process exactly what Sam was in trouble for, mostly so he could calm down enough to deal with it. So first of all, he had caught one of his constables fooling around while on duty, Sam was definitely in trouble for that, probably more than anything else. Second of all, he was fooling around with the daughter of the richest man in town and _that_ was probably hazardous to his health. So now that Vimes had a pretty good idea what he was supposed to be angry about, he could deal with it.

"Lance-constable, I want to make one thing perfectly clear to you."

"Yes, Sarge."

"You do _not_ have sex while on duty. Do you understand?!"

"Yes, Sarge."

"Good." Vimes took a deep breath to further calm himself. "Now for the other matter. Do you have _any_ idea who that girl is?"

"Sybil, Sarge?"

"Yes. Sybil _Ramkin_. The daughter of _Lord_ Ramkin who happens to own a tenth of Ankh, extensive property in Morpork, unreal estate at the Unseen University and quite a bit of farmland." He paused again to let this sink in. "She is worth… millions of dollars a year, lad. _Millions!_ Do you really think it's a good idea to incur the wrath of a man with access to millions? He could probably get a private contract with the Unmentionables just to deal with you, never mind assassins."

Sam's eyes widened considerably. I probably didn't need to say that, Vimes thought. Vimes' patted Sam's shoulder. "I'm not going to ask how this happened, I remembering being your age." A lot better than I'd like, Vimes told himself. "I'm pretty sure that this was one of those 'one thing led to another' situations. Just, keep what I said in mind before you let your hormones get the better of you again." Sam nodded quickly. Vimes took his hand off Sam's shoulder and started walking to the door.

Sam watched him and seemed to have something on his mind. "Sarge…" Vimes turned around; he found that he wasn't angry at the boy anymore which was definitely a good thing since poor Sam looked really anxious and confused. Sam smiled weakly for a second. "She… let me kiss 'er, Sarge. And touch her… bosom. No girl's ever let me do that before…" Vimes bit hard on the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing. He looked up at the ceiling.

All Vimes could think was, Ye gods, I am not going to have to give myself The Talk, am I? This is… lunacy and really something Sam should talk to his dad about. But no, ol' Dad had to go and 'get run over by a cart' and there are really some things a boy can't talk to his mother about. Vimes motioned to a chair and when Sam sat down, Vimes sat across from him. Vimes sighed and rubbed his temple, he was pretty sure he could feel a headache coming on. "All right… you obviously want to talk, so talk."

Sam smiled; it was a nervous but happy smile. It was the smile of someone in love. Vimes noticed this and stifled a groan. "I love 'er, Sarge." Vimes couldn't stop himself. "You think you're in love with a girl because she's the first one that let you touch her breast." Vimes wasn't asking, he was correcting. Sam noticed this too and got a little offended. "No really. I know we just met… and I know you think I'm just some dumb kid but I know a lot more than you give me credit. Don't think I didn't notice that she was posh. I noticed and she damn well noticed that I'm just some poor guard and she still let me kiss her. That's gotta mean something."

Vimes shrugged and suddenly it was as if most of the facts disappeared. Suddenly, Vimes wasn't Sam Vimes and Sam wasn't Sam Vimes. Suddenly, Sam was just a naïve kid and Vimes was his jaded sergeant. Even Sybil Ramkin was Sybil Ramkin, she was just some posh girl that Sam was fool enough to fall for. "It could mean that she's entered her rebellious phase. Girls don't usually pick boys Daddy will like. Look, there's been a lot of stuff going on and people get confused. They start creating feelings that they don't actually have and when things get back to normal they won't be there anymore."

Sam glared at Vimes but didn't say anything. Vimes continued. "But fine, let's say for argument's sake, you two really do love each other. What are you going to do? Stroll up to Scoone Ave, bold as you like, and ask Lord Ramkin for Sybil's hand in marriage? If you're really lucky, he'll just laugh in your face." He laughed humorlessly. "Oh yes, I can almost hear what you'd say. 'Lord Ramkin, I love your daughter and I wanna marry her. I know I'm just a copper and I don't have any money or land or a title'…" Vimes stopped and looked intently at Sam. Sam looked down at the ground, crestfallen.

"So that's how it is? Two people's chance at love get thrown out just because of social rank?" Vimes rolled his eyes, please, he thought, people have enough trouble making it work when there aren't any big obstacles. It really had been a fluke that he and Sybil got married at all. Of course by the time they did, her parents were dead and she was 'the crazy dragon lady' so no one in her social circle seemed to object. They kept saying Sybil only married Vimes out of desperation and fear of dying alone.

Vimes sighed, what could he say to Sam anyway? Not 'love conquers all' because it didn't. He hadn't really been in love with Sybil when they got married, he cared about her of course and over time, his feelings grew into love but he couldn't be sure that things would work out now. Everything was probably ruined. He reminded himself to beat the crap out of Lu-Tze. "Gods, lad. Don't you have any sense? Yes, that is exactly how it is. If you pursue her, you'll ruin her life and her reputation and eventually, she'll grow to resent and hate you. Love doesn't last long in those conditions. Best to just let her go."

Sam stood up suddenly. Vimes should have known better, he would never be any good at listening to people's orders or advice. "You're wrong, Sarge." Sam's voice cracked a little. "Yes, it's going to be hard. I know that and I don't expect that her dad will welcome me with open arms. If we have to run away together, we will and I don't care what you say, Sybil would never hate me as long as I treat her proper." Vimes wanted to object but then again, he wasn't sure that Sam was wrong about Sybil. Gods knew that Sybil had endless amounts of patience when it came to Vimes but had she always had it in her or did she develop it?

Patience seems like something one has to learn and he never actually did ruin her life. She didn't lose much when she married him but _this_ Sybil definitely would lose a lot if she ran away with Sam. She'd lose her family, her reputation, her friends, her money, her lifestyle. How could Sam be so selfish? Sam Vimes was always selfish when it came to Sybil. "If you really want to treat her proper, let her go. Don't tell her love her and don't ask her to marry you and don't follow her back to Scoone Ave when this is all over. If it means having her think you're just some jerk who wanted to get under her skirt, so be it. She'll be better off."

Sam could see that Vimes was serious, and very, very concerned. He did have a point and he really hated that. He sat back down. He was shaking but not crying though Vimes could tell that he really wanted to. "I know, Sarge. Gods, I'm so stupid. I shoulda known. I'm not good enough for her. I'll never be good enough for her." He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Vimes stood up and patted Sam's shoulder. "Pull yourself together. We got a job to do."

(1) Coppers always say this, despite the age of the kids involved and knowing perfectly well what they're doing.

(2) This was the _only_ reason he didn't yell. If it had been anyone else, he would have gone completely and utterly spare.

(3) Vimes is so ready to be a father.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: here's chapter 4. Read and enjoy. Oh and feel free to review, I haven't had anything new to brood over. 3_

_P.S. I don't own anything._

Vimes had expected that Sam would ask if all he cared about was the job but he didn't. He just nodded and stood up slowly. They walked out of the watch house into the street. The events that followed while important will only be summarized. The barricade was pushed forward, the Cable Street watch house was burned down and Big Mary was unleashed and subsequently taken care of. There really had been a lot of work to do and Sybil understood. She always understood.

So she didn't notice that Sam was being cold to her. She didn't notice until morning when Rosie and Miss Battye were making a hard-boiled egg for Vimes. Sam looked at the egg in the boiling water and heard Rosie ask, "How do you suppose he likes his eggs?" Without a thought or pause Sam answered. "The yolk still slightly runny. And some toast, cut into soldiers." Sybil started toasting some bread and added another egg to the boiling water. "Is that how you like your egg too, Sam?"

Sam looked away from her. Sybil tilted her head. "Sam?" She put her hand on his shoulder and Sam moved away from her. "Sam, what's the matter with you? You've been really quiet since you got back." Ah, how quickly boys learn to be jerks. Sam shrugged. "Nothing's the matter. I just don't feel like playing house." Miss Battye, Rosie and Sybil looked at each other in confusion. Miss Battye shook her head and took the bucket with the eggs in it and walked away. Rosie wandered away quietly.

Sybil crossed her arms and glared at Sam. "Do you want to explain what you mean by that, Samuel Vimes?" Sam glared right back at Sybil. "It means I don't need you to cook my eggs or cut my toast. I don't need you for anything so stop fussing over me." Sybil snorted. "I wasn't fussing over you. You're acting stupid."

"Sorry about that, miss. I don't have a fancy education like you. I'm just some dumb guard."

"Oh I see what you're doing."

"Really? What am I doing?"

"You're picking a fight with me." Realization dawned. "You're trying to break up with me, aren't you?"

Sam rolled his eyes. Sybil threw a piece of toast at him. "I can't believe you! Why? One minute, you're sweet as pie and the next minute you act like you can't stand the sight of me! You've barely said two words to me since we were fooling around in the watch…" More realization dawned, but not the right kind. "You… you… You Creep! You were just being nice to me so you could… you could… Gods, I can't believe you! I really thought you were a nice boy!"

Sam avoided her eyes and bit his tongue. He really wanted to tell her that wasn't true but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Sybil slapped him. When Sam looked at her, her eyes were starting to water. "So that's it? You had your fun and now you're going to just toss me aside, huh? Argh, I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I fell for your charms." Now Sam really had to say something. "What the hell are you talking about? What charm? I'm the biggest loser there is!"

Sybil wagged a finger at him. "That's what I'm talking about! That little harmless act you pull. Your 'oh, I'm just an awkward, lovable simpleton, you can trust me, I don't have it in me to be hurtful'… thing!" Sam laughed desperately. "That's not an act! I _am_ awkward and simple."

"Ok, so maybe you weren't just trying to get me into bed. So what, were you trying to seduce me to get to my father's money but you got scared at the last minute?"

"No! I was just…" Sam never did finish what he was saying because at there moment, the sky got suddenly dark and when he looked up, hundreds of arrows were flying through the air. "Shit!" Sam tackled Sybil to the ground and they both crawled quickly under a cart. He thought he heard Vimes shout "That was my _egg_, you bastard!" But he pushed all thoughts from his mind, except seek cover, of course.

Sam looked up and saw Vimes at the top of the barricade; he smiled at Sybil for a second and then ran to the barricade, leaving her alone. Sybil looked around and saw that some of the old ladies were standing just behind the barricade pushing spears and other unpleasant implements through the gaps and Reg Shoe was throwing steaks over the barricade. She got up and ran to the grannies. "Hey! Give me one of those!" A granny tossed Sybil a fire poker and Sybil jammed it throw a gap with all her weight.

She looked up and saw Vimes and Sam strike some soldiers with their truncheons and it occurred to her how similar they were. But then there was some more movement and suddenly, she couldn't see Sam or Vimes anywhere. She looked around the parapet frantically and saw a grapnel shoot over the barricade and catch a watchman. Her heart stopped. She dropped the fire poker and ran toward him. When she got closer she saw that the watchman was tall… very tall, too tall to be Sam and she started to breath again.

Vimes and Wiglet exchanged some words that Sybil didn't hear and Wiglet dragged the watchman, who she remembered was called Nancyball away. Then suddenly it was over. Sybil saw Vimes talk to one of the soldiers on the other side of the barricade. Some people laughed after he said something and then some soldiers were allowed through to collect their wounded. Sam walked up to Vimes and they started to talk.

Sybil was so relieved that Sam was all right and she almost ran to him but something stopped her. She just watched them talk from a distance. They even stood the same way. Sybil found herself wondering what Sam would look like in thirty years time and couldn't shake the feeling that all he'd be missing would be the eye patch. She watched as people started dismantling the barricade and heard someone say that Lord Winder was dead and Snapcase was now the Patrician.

She should have been relieved and she was… a little. But with Winder gone that meant that everything would calm down and she'd have to go home. She was starting to understand what Sam had been doing. It wouldn't work between them. Her father would never approve of Sam. He'd say things like 'classes can't mix' or 'he's just a poor guard'. Which was true of course but that didn't mean it was right. What did she need with more money or titles? She had that already but she wouldn't have Sam.

She started to help with dismantling the barricade, anything to stay near Sam for a little longer. They didn't speak. They'd just look at each other and smile shyly occasionally. There was, or will be, a little dog that once thought how between humans, sex can happen when they're sitting on opposite sides of the room and fully dressed. Some of the watchmen were talking about what would happen with Snapcase in charge. Someone mentioned an amnesty. There was some talking and then suddenly no one said anything.

_"But Nancyball didn't win." _

_"We lost five men in all. Two got hit by arrows, one fell off the barricade and one cut his own throat by accident. It happens."_

That was a really horrible way to die, thought Sybil. There would be no one to blame but yourself.

_"Did Nancyball have a mum?"_

Sybil looked to see who asked that. It was Sam. Some part of Sybil's brain wondered what kind of teenager asked something like that. That seemed like a question that… someone older would ask. Like a Sergeant, a Captain, a leader of men. Then Sybil knew that Sam wasn't just some simple guard who wasn't good enough for her. He was a leader of men, maybe not right now but it was just a matter of time. It was unfortunate that her father would probably never see that.

She really should say something to him before she had to go back home. Something like 'I love you' or 'Social rank doesn't matter' but Vimes beat her to Sam. He said, "Get ready… Something's going to happen…" Vimes looked around carefully. Sybil noticed that he seemed to go all cold. Then things seemed to go insane again. Wiglet was shot through the chest and then Vimes shouted, "In here!" Thirty people obeyed his command, included Sybil.

When everyone stopped running, Sybil looked around and saw that she was inside some knitting shop. Then Vimes said, "Who are all these people?" Sybil laughed for a moment but then felt bad about it. Someone said it was raining arrows outside. Sybil was not remotely surprised. Then there was mention of a back door out of the shop and for some reason everyone suddenly wanted to buy mushrooms… After a few more minutes, everyone seemed to be rushing out the back door to the shop that led to smelly alley.

Then someone in a very playful voice that sent chills down Sybil's spine said. "I got you now, Duke." Everyone started running as another arrow was shot into the crowd. Mr. Dibbler was right, it really was impossible to swim against the tide. If Sybil or anyone else had bothered to look back, they would have seen Carcer smile his happy smile. He said to himself, "I think Hogswatch has come early for me, if that girl is who I think she is."

Most of the running stopped after the crowd utterly annihilated a heggler's cart. The crowd broke up leaving Vimes and his men along with some others, which included Sybil. With the crowd broken up she was finally able to find Sam just in time to hear him say, "Well, you got your soldiers covered in egg, Sarge. Wha—"

"Sam!"

Sybil ran to Vimes and Sam and hardly noticed that they both turned at the sound of her voice. They both grimaced at the exact same time and asked, "Sybil, what are you doing here?" Sybil s stared at them both and thought how funny it was that at times they even sounded the same. She gave Vimes and Sam a crooked grin. "I don't know… everyone was just running this way… oh and I didn't want to get shot at." Sam chuckled a little and Vimes seemed visibly nervous. "Did anyone see you?" Sybil shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: Ok, here's chapter five. Hope y'all enjoy it._

_P.S. I don't own... blah blah blah blah._

Vimes cursed under his breath. Sybil put her hands on her hips. "Sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to be hiding. Care to explain what you're so worried about?" Vimes rubbed his forehead to fight off a headache. "Well, let's see. I've got a bunch of Unmentionables on our tails who don't give a toss about amnesty and oh, yes, now I have to worry about you getting killed in this mess. That is what I'm so worried about." Sybil was going to say something when a little… boy, maybe, rushed over to Vimes.

_"There's men after you, Sarge!" _

_"Well done, Nobby."_

_"Carcer, Sarge! He's got a job with Snapcase! Captain of the Palace Guard, Sarge! And they gonna get you! Snapcase told 'em to, Sarge! My mate Scratch n' Sniff is the under-boot boy at the palace and he was in the yard and heard 'em talking, Sarge!"_

_"I haven't been making a lot of friends lately. Okay, gentlemen, I'm going to run. If you lot melt away into the crowd you'll be fine, I expect."_

_"No fear, Sarge," said Sam…_

There was some arguing at first. But none of the watchmen would leave Vimes alone to face the Unmentionables then there was some discussion about how they'd know who was on what side. Someone said something about carrots and then something about lilacs. Each man took a sprig of lilac and tucked it into their helmets. Sybil took one too and tucked it into her hair. She heard Sam say, "What are you doing?" Sybil summoned her aristocratic genes and looked at him like he was asking the dumbest question in the history of human speech.

"I'm going to help, obviously," said Sybil in an even voice. Sam's eyes widened. "No you're not!" Sybil saw Vimes shake his head and roll his eyes. She could almost hear him say, 'idiot'. Sybil drew herself up, which Vimes thought could use more practice but it definitely did the job for Sam. "Oh and why not? And don't you pull any of that 'you're a girl so you can't fight' nonsense. I'll have you know I come from a long line of women who have had to protect embassies from invading hordes using frying pans and hot cooking fat and not that long ago, my aunt and I, were held up by highwaymen and my aunt gave them such a talking to they ran home to their mothers."

She waited a moment to let this sink in. She noticed that Vimes laughed a little and then groaned. She continued, "A Ramkin has never run from a fight and neither will I, thank you very much. And who exactly do you think you are to tell me what I can and I can't do? Hmm?" Sam didn't stand a chance. Vimes had grown accustomed to Sybil's authoritative voice and could occasionally resist but poor Sam had never even heard it before. His genes didn't help him much either. All they did was, give him the annoying sensation that Sybil really should be riding a war charger while he stood nervously with a spear.

Vimes cleared his throat. "Hey, you think you lovers can put your quarrel aside for now? We don't have time for this now." He started to walk away. Sam followed after him, anything to escape Sybil drawn up. "Where are we going, Sarge?" Vimes didn't slow down or even look at Sam. "Back to the watch house." They reached Cable Street, which still have a barricade but not much of one. Carcer's men were already there. Later Sybil would find herself wondering how one minute people were standing perfectly still and then next minute, chaos ensued and everyone was fighting.

Sam and Sybil stayed close together. Along the way, Sybil had gotten a sword from a passing soldier. Everyone else had gotten crossbows as well. As the fighting continued, an outside observer would have noticed that Sam and Sybil weren't just fighting their immediate opponent but each other's opponent too. They had both gotten it into their heads that the other was the one that needed protecting. Carcer had an opportunity to notice this and laughed to himself.

Vimes only noticed this when someone was slicing toward Sam and both Vimes and Sybil brought swords down on the man's arm. They looked at each other for a second and smirked. Vimes really felt he ought to say something to her. Something about Sam, to let her know that he was entrusting her with him or something. But the moment was interrupted when Carcer ran behind Sybil, grabbed her by the waist and ran off with her. (1)

Vimes stopped breathing and felt like his whole body had frozen until he heard Sam shout, "Sybil!" and like a heroic fool, run after Carcer. Vimes growled and shouted, "Son of a bitch!" He went after Sam and Carcer. He called over his shoulder as he ran. "I gotta take care of this! I'll be right back!" When they found Carcer and Sybil, she was lying face down, her left arm was behind her back and Carcer was sitting on her hips with his knee pushing into her arm. He was still smiling as he spoke to her, he waved a knife vaguely. "Now you really should stop struggling. I know I said I wouldn't kill you until we're done but that doesn't mean I won't hurt you."

Carcer looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps. He saw that Sam and Vimes were standing side by side, Vimes was glaring at Carcer but staying perfectly still while Sam was aiming his crossbow at Carcer, shaking with rage. Carcer smiled his happy go lucky smile. "So nice to see you again, Duke." Vimes took a few slow steps forward. "Leave her out of this, Carcer. She's got nothing to do with this." Carcer snorted but continued to smile. "You little liar. Can I ask you a question?" He paused until Vimes nodded once. "Which one do you have?"

Vimes raised an eyebrow. Carcer continued. "Most men have two very basic fantasies. One is being with two women and the other is watching another man -- his wife." Vimes didn't move a muscle. "I know what you're doing, Carcer. It's not going to work. You're not going to push me into making a mistake." Carcer continued to smile. "I know that. I know you're smarter than that. I know that you can keep your emotions in check while you sort things out. But…" Carcer patted Sybil's bottom playfully. "How long did it take you to learn to do that?"

Vimes looked to Sam. Sam was still holding his crossbow. He had stopped shaking and was holding the crossbow perfectly steady. Vimes relaxed a little. He really thought that Sam would just lose his temper and run at Carcer. He looked at Sybil. She looked furious and Vimes noticed that with her free hand she was very slowly feeling around for a loose cobble or anything she could use as a weapon. Carcer noticed the change in Vimes' face. Without even looking down he pushed his knife into Sybil's shoulder. She clenched her free hand and shut her eyes tightly but didn't scream. She didn't even say 'ouch'.

Carcer sighed as he pulled his knife out of her shoulder. "How many times am I going to have to tell you, you stupid cow? Don't struggle. You'll only make it worse for yourself." Carcer laughed that infuriating laugh. Vimes had had enough and on an unspoken command, Sam fired his crossbow. It missed but it did make Carcer blink just as Vimes rushed him and tackled him to the ground. The fighting is probably best described as those clouds of smoke in old cartoons, with limbs and weapons poking out occasionally.

Carcer broke free and ran off with Vimes hot on his tail. Sam heard Vimes shout, "Take care of Sybil!" before he was out of sight. Sam tossed his crossbow aside and knelt by Sybil. Sybil sat up slowly. "What a _horrible_ man!" She winced as she tried to move her right arm. Sam was shaking again. He really wanted to hold Sybil or something but he was too worried it would just hurt her more. "We need to find Dr. Lawn…" Sybil shook her head dismissively. "No, it's fine…" Sam groaned. "I knew you shouldn't have done any fighting."

"Hey, I wasn't fighting when this happened to me."

Sybil stood up, unsteadily at first but after a moment, she was perfectly collected. "We need to go and help the others. I don't think that Sergeant Keel wants us getting involved with him and that _dreadful _man." She started walking back toward the watch house. Things had quieted down a little when they returned and Sergeant Colon ran up to Sam. "Where's Sergeant Keel?" Sam thought for a moment. "He's chasing Carcer." Sam turned around and unsheathed his sword. "C'mon. We have to go help him."

(1) This probably needs saying. Every middle-aged person can look back on photos or iconographs of their adolescent selves and be baffled by how thin they once were. It has been said that trying to drag a middle-aged Lady Sybil is very much like trying to drag a mountain. Teenage Sybil is svelte by comparison.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note: technically this is the last chapter of this fanfic. I have been thinking about what kind of future Vimes would return to and I realized there are so many ways it could go and it would be less confusing on everyone if I just wrote it up as a sequel. I've already thought of about 4 possible futures that can be stories in their own right. All of them would be AU of course. _

_P.S. I don't own squat. _

All the lilac boys and the one lilac girl followed Sam. They ran for what felt like a thousand years until they found Vimes and Carcer… for lack of a better word duking it out. They were about to rush at Carcer when Vimes held up a hand. "Stay out of this, all of you!" Sam was about to object when he felt someone tug at his hand. He looked down and saw Nobby pointing behind him. Sam turned around and saw more of Carcer's men running towards them.

There was fighting again. At one point, someone kicked Nobby and he stayed down, 'unconscious'. As the fighting continued, Dickins went down, as well as Coates. Time seemed to stop, for two people it really did and when time started again, Sam turned around and saw Sergeant Keel on the ground and Carcer was gone. Something told him not to go to him but his feet didn't listen. He ran to Keel and started to shake him frantically. "Sarge! Sarge!" It was cliché, even as Sam did it, he knew it was cliché but he couldn't stop himself. He looked up at the sky and screamed, loud and long and painful.

Everyone stopped, even Carcer's men stopped and they all looked at Sam. Then just as suddenly as he had started, Sam stopped screaming. No one had to say anything. They all knew that Keel was dead. Sam stood up slowly and looked around. "Carcer?" He looked around some more. "Carcer!" He ran to one of Carcer's men, grabbed him by his collar and shook him roughly. "Where did he go?! Tell me, godsdammit!" The man looked up at Sam, shaking and shook his head. "I-I I… don't know!" Sam pushed the man to the ground and drew his sword.

He raised it. He could hear a voice whispering to him. _Kill him. They killed Sarge. They're unmentionables… Remember that woman? Remember what they would've done to Sybil? _Then he heard another voice, a much more familiar voice, a dead man's voice. _Once we break down, it all breaks down. You won't feel better if you do it, you know. _Sam swung down his sword at the man and hit him across the face with the flat side. There was a definite puddle around the man but except for a red mark on his face, he was unscathed.

That really should have ended things. That should have been the point when all of Carcer's men turned and ran but they didn't. One of them shot an arrow that went through Snouty. So the fighting started again and for some reason everyone started listening to Sam, even Sergeant Colon. From a rooftop, if one looked really carefully, one would have seen a mass of dark colors that didn't fit exactly right into the background but that was only because the mass wasn't trying to fit exactly right into the background.

The dark colors, picked a sprig of lilac and held it in its mouth and jumped down to join the fray. Once on the ground, one could see that the mass of dark colors was a young man. Sam was about to ask who the hell the young man was but the man just smirked at him. Somehow, Sam, Sybil and the young man found themselves back to back and surrounded. Sybil looked at the young man, her eyes widened. "Havelock?" Havelock turned to Sybil and smiled. "Oh hello, Sybil." He didn't even seem surprised to see her, which was what really got to Sam.

Sam blocked a man's sword and pushed him back with his foot. "Wait a second! You two know each other?" Havelock shrugged as he slit a man's throat. Sybil coughed as she punched a man. Sam narrowed his eyes at Sybil. "There something you want to tell me?" Sybil chuckled nervously. "Oh you know how it is. All aristocrats know each other." Sam nodded and then it hit him. "Oh my gods! Are you two—"

"Oh course not!"

Havelock pushed the lilac into the corner of his mouth. "We only went out once. That hardly counts." Sybil gritted her teeth. "Havelock!" Havelock shrugged. "Oh relax, what does he care anyway. It's none of his business." His face became one of realization and he grinned widely at Sybil. "Sybil. Have you been slumming it?" Havelock heard Sam yell, "Excuse me!?" Sybil's face turned tomato red. "I'll have you know Sam is a very nice boy and… Why am I explaining myself to you?"

The fighting didn't take much longer. After a few minutes, the last of Carcer's men, crawled or hobbled away. What remained of the lilac boys didn't exactly cheer for their victory so much as sigh of relief. Sam stomped off back to the Treacle Mine Road watch house and everyone followed close, but not too close, behind him. The only ones that dared to get close were Havelock and Sybil. Sam heard Havelock say to Sybil, "You really should get that shoulder looked at."

"I know but it hasn't exactly been practical to do so."

Sam stopped suddenly and turned to Sybil. She absently took half a step back when he spoke, "You said it was fine." Never has such an innocuous statement carried so much accusation or venom. Havelock blended himself into the background with only a hint of a grin. Sybil stared at Sam trying to think of something clever to say. "Huh?" Sam pointed an accusing finger at Sybil. "When I said you should see a doctor about your shoulder, you practically called me sexist! _He_ says you should see a doctor and you make excuses about why you haven't!"

Some coughing was heard from somewhere in the background but when Sybil looked around, she didn't see anything. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I can't believe you. You're actually jealous. You're the one who said we should call it quits." Sam almost hopped with fury. "I'm not jealous!" There was some more frantic coughing. Sam looked disdainfully at nothingness since he really had no idea where Havelock was but he was damn sure the man was laughing at him.

Sybil smiled at Sam suddenly and took a few steps toward him. She was about to put her arms around him but her shoulder was really killing her now. So she contended herself to stroke Sam's cheek softly. "You're so cute when you're being unreasonable. I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about." Sam relaxed and tilted forward. Sam and Sybil's lips touched lightly but only for an instant and then Sam was dragged back and tossed against the doorframe of the watch house entrance.

Sam looked up at a mustache bristling with rage and milky blue eyes looking down at him. Captain Rust grabbed Sam's collar and shook him vigorously. "All right you, gutter trash! Where's Keel?! He's got a lot to answer for and don't think I've forgotten your little stunt either!" Sam opened his mouth to say something but Sybil interrupted him. "He's dead, Ronnie." Rust turned and noticed Sybil at last. He tossed Sam against the doorframe again and walked over to Sybil. "Sybil? What are you doing here? What happened? Why are you bleeding?"

Sybil sighed. "Willikins and I were shopping for this home economics project I have and we got separated. I ended up here since there was anarchy everywhere else and then I was stabbed during the fighting." Sam was really should have been amazed at how Sybil recounted the events of the last two days like she was listing off her grocery list but he really couldn't get over the fact that Sybil had called Captain Rust 'Ronnie'. Havelock appeared out of the background again and was standing next to Sam. Sam just looked at him and didn't even flinch. "Are they…"

Havelock nodded vaguely. "Once but it hardly counts." Sam couldn't stop himself from laughing. "I thought posh girls weren't allowed to even talk to men unless they were married to them." He sighed. "And here I thought I had been so smooth." He noticed that Rust, despite his many flaws was actually fussing over Sybil a bit. He put his coat around her shoulders and led his horse to her so she could get on. Sam found himself wishing that Rust would act like a jerk at least, so he could hate him properly.

He sighed and looked at Havelock again. "Does he—?" Havelock shook his head slowly. "No, he just feels responsible." Once Sybil was sitting side-saddle on Rust's horse, Sam walked over to her slowly. He looked up at her and smiled. "Bye." Sybil looked down and smiled back. "It doesn't have to be this way…" Sam shook his head. "Yes it does." Sybil belonged on a horse and Sam belonged on foot. Sybil bent down slowly and Sam stretched up so they could share one final kiss but then Rust tugged sharply at the reins. "Come along, Sybil."

Sam watched Sybil ride away slowly. She'd turn to look at him and Sam fought every urge he had to run after the horse. He knew it would be less painful if he could just turn away. Walk away, something told him in his mind but he couldn't. He wanted to keep his eyes on her as long as possible. He sighed loudly when the horse turned a corner and Sybil was completely out of sight. Havelock walked over to Sam and stood beside him.

"So Keel is dead."

"Yes."

"Such a shame. He could have been great. He should have been made Watch Commander. That comes with a knighthood, you know." Havelock paused when Sam looked at him. "I know his type. He would have done great things for this city. Not just for the aristocrats but the _whole _city. In time, he would have become one of the most powerful men in Ankh-Morpork. Can you imagine it? A simple guard, someone men like Rust think of as gutter trash. He had such potential."

Sam closed his eyes for a moment then looked at Havelock again. "I know what you're doing." Havelock blinked. "Oh?" Sam rolled his eyes. "You're trying to manipulate me. You think I'm going do anything you tell me just by dangling Sybil in front of me like some prize?" Havelock shrugged. "I didn't say anything about you. I was talking about Sergeant Keel. I've had no indication that you two are anything alike."

Sam nodded uncertainly and then turned to look back at end of the street. He crossed his arms and tried to stay angry. He did feel angry. Sarge was dead, Nancyball was dead, Snouty, Dickins, Reg Shoe, Coates and Wiglet were all dead. He knew that Sarge was right and things weren't going to change and that he'd never see Sybil again and what made him really mad is that eventually, she'd marry either a man like Rust or a man like Havelock.

But as angry as he was about everything, he felt more heartbroken. He felt lost and alone and he just wanted to kick Havelock for even saying those things about Sarge. He knew Havelock was trying to play him, but he had no idea if he was just doing it for his own amusement or because he really thought that Sam had potential. He stopped thinking when he felt eyes on him. Havelock was watching him. There was no clue to what the man was thinking. Sam sighed. "What?"

Havelock tilted his head and after a long time put a hand over Sam's right eye. When he removed it, it left a dark smudge over his eye and parts his cheekbone. He didn't say anything. He just made a little sound that could have been a cough or a laugh or a 'huh' and then walked away. Sam turned around but Havelock was already gone. "What the hell was that?" He walked into the watch house and poured himself some cocoa. He sat at one of the desks staring into the mug until it had gone cold.

He drummed his fingers on the desk impatiently and tried not to think about anything Havelock said. He went to the privy then up to his barracks rooms. He really wanted to sleep, to sleep forever and to not dream because he knew what he'd dream about. But he couldn't bring himself to get into the bed. He rubbed his cheek and decided that maybe he should try shaving. Not that he had anything to shave. He walked over to a little mirror and picked up his razor and finally looked up at the mirror and his reflection. He saw the dark smudge on his eye and cheek. He cautiously closed his right eye and saw that the smudge was on his eyelid as well. It did look like an eye patch.

"Sod!" He picked up a rag and wiped his eye roughly trying to get the greasepaint or whatever it was off his face. After a few seconds, it was spread around but most of the greasepaint was on the rag. Sam growled and threw down the rag. He ran over to the window, looked out and yelled, "Yea, real godsdamn funny, Havelock!" He shook his fist out the window and then heard Colon shout from below. "What the hell are you going on about, Vimes?" Sam gritted his teeth as he pulled himself back inside. He closed the window carefully and after counting to ten, he thumped the wall.

_The End. Sorta... _


End file.
